Players like Androish and Anoobx are both medium ranked AFAIK ( ~1100-1300 ) but being incredibly specialized to the PhantomX mod they know every nook and cranny that usually leads to a massive map domination.

When I started I was more of a guy "who kept the island warm" until the phantom wanted to have it. After a hundred games it´s a bit better, watching replays on how to properly ecowhore on phantom, understanding how to dual-use buildpower, etc. makes a huge difference and I´m still getting my ass handed to me easily when an experienced phantom is in the game.

Just to put an follow up on the current state of Phantom games, here are a few observations:

1) Ranking in Phantom is arbitrary, as having a high rating does not translate to fully understanding and embracing the Phantom meta. So knowing the player´s name is actually way more important than looking at his games played and rating.

2) Players lying in lobby "I know how to play Phantom" yet attacking the other phantom until the reveal timer running out happens quite frequently. The fear of rather being booted than taught how to play the game is prelevalent. The Culture around FAF has become ( at least in public games ) a fast "join and go, flame later in game, GG" and I can understand it, seeing as how I myself are often times annoyed by Phantoms not even managing to upgrade their T1 Island mexes.

3) Banter. BANTER PEOPLE! Some games are way too boring, because nobody is even typing a single line, not even the habitual GG and HF. Phantom is a fun mod were all sorts of trash talk, paranoia inducing deception and everything else SHOULD take place. obviously your mileage may vary.

4) Reveal is nearly mandatory in games to prevent the hour long AFK fest, unless you know you have experienced players in the game who would like to have a bit of deception ongoing.

5) Having a splintered ( not everybody participating on the Forums or at least reading ), multilingual community makes it nearly impossible to get on the same page about the idea of this mod and how it should be player.

What I actually want to say is: Communication is key, as always, and we need more Phantom players. So I heard names like "duck" and "mead" and such thrown around. Come back please and play with me.

Phantom games are happening frequently ( thank god ) but we need more players and need to establish a culture that welcomes new players if we want this game to go on on a level we all can enjoy. ( in that regards thanks to anoobx, androish and quite a few others who kept up with my bullshit teaching me valuable lessons ) Which is difficult if new players do not come out of their shell admitting they have no clue.